Tune in to UpFirst to Make The Most Out Of The Clock: The Upside of Biden’s Last Chance to Make a Difference

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Congress has a busy agenda this week. The first item on the list is electing who will lead each chamber. President-elect Donald Trump has made it known he wants to influence these choices, and his allies are pushing to make his preferences happen.

One of Trump’s biggest decisions will be selecting the leader of the Justice Department. He criticized the DOJ and FBI on the campaign trail. Soon, he will have the opportunity to address his grievances.

President Biden travels to Peru and Brazil this week to meet with leaders of the world’s biggest economies at two summits: APEC in Lima and the G20 in Rio. This is likely his last significant opportunity to leave a mark on the global stage, but it comes on the heels of Trump’s victory. As a result, Biden finds himself in a challenging position regarding his final message.

What did President Donald Trump want to accomplish with immigration reform? Emilia Pérez, the first Mexican cartel musical based on a trans woman

The biggest goal of Trump’s campaign was to launch the largest deportation program of criminals in America’s history. He appointed a border czar, Tom Homan. Homan led Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term. Andrew Selee, president of the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, talks with Morning Edition about what a plan for mass deportation might look like including whether living in a red or blue state matters.

Karla Sofia Gascón plays the title role in the new film Emilia Pérez, the world’s first Mexican cartel musical focusing on a trans woman. When Gascón’s character is introduced, she is known as the cartel leader “Manitas” del Monte, who rules by fear and deadly force. She wants to be a woman after living a life of violence. She emerges from gender-affirming surgery, performing good deeds to right the wrongs from her past. Gascn talked to Steve Inskeep about what drew her to the role. Listen to what she had to say about the character and more.

Former and future President Donald Trump is set to visit his old office today, the Oval Office. President Biden has invited his predecessors and successors for a tradition meant to show the desire for a smooth and peaceful transfer of power.

“It was an honor to meet with Obama and I looked forward to being with him many, many more times in the future”, said Trump while sitting next to him.

Obama wanted to make sure the transition set Trump up for success. “I believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of party and regardless of political preferences, to now come together, work together, to deal with the many challenges that we face,” Obama said.

“This was a meeting that was going to last for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, and we were just going to get to know each other,” Trump said. “We had never met each other. I have great admiration for you. The meeting lasted over an hour and a half. And it could have — as far as I’m concerned, it could have gone on for a lot longer.”

That’s something Trump immediately ignored when in office. He took the time to answer questions from the reporters, but also fought with the journalists when he felt like he was answering them.

The Trump/Biden Connection is Not as Good as the Obama-Trump Pair: Observations on the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

Biden and Trump’s relationship is not as good as the one between Obama and Trump. Biden campaigned against Trump twice, winning in 2020 with an argument that Trump was an existential threat to U.S. democracy.

After their one meeting on a debate stage in June, they ended Biden’s bid for a second term. During the remaining months of the campaign Trump often gloated about his knock-out punch in the debate and bemoaned the “coup” that forced Biden out of the race.

The official wouldn’t say if Biden would talk to Trump during his Oval Office meeting on Wednesday or if he would talk to the Chinese leader.

Biden is expected to raise concern over China’s support for Russia in the Ukrainian conflict, warn China against cyber attacks on US networks, and express concern about Chinese trade practices.

“This is a tough, complicated relationship between the U.S .and China, and so whatever the next administration decides, they’re going to need to find ways to manage that tough, complicated relationship,” the official said.

“I would look to Biden to make some practical points, because the likelihood of the Trump administration imposing tariffs is real,” said Russel, now with the Asia Society. “And that should be a clarion call to the big offenders like China that they need to adjust their policies and their practices.”